Liberal Education at Hofstra - Updated (Hoax)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - Five men gang raped an 18-year-old Hofstra University student on campus early Sunday morning after one of them lured her away from a party by snatching her cell phone, according to police. Detectives have arrested four men and are looking for the fifth suspect.

Cops would not say whether the victim knew any of the men beforehand or where on the sprawling Hempstead campus she was attacked.

This might seem similar to the Duke Lacrosse Rape Hoax of a few years ago. But don't turn on the news expecting to see national coverage of the Hofstra attack. There is an aspect of this case that will send the national news media scrambling for other "more relevant" stories to cover.

The perpetrators of the alleged rape are black and Latino.

Jesus Ortiz, 19, and Rondell Bedward, 21, both of the Bronx were arraigned on rape charges on Monday. Ortiz also faces grand larceny charges for allegedly stealing the woman's mobile phone.

Stalin Felipe, 19, of the Bronx, and Kevin Taveras, 20, of Brentwood, Long Island were arraigned Tuesday in Hempstead.

According to police, the men worked like a pack to lure the young woman to a place where they could violate her at will.

Nassau County police said that Ortiz lured the student off campus by grabbing her phone while they were dancing at a party, the New York Post reports.

"Immediately following that dance, he did snatch her cell phone from her waist," Lt. John Allen told the Post. "She repeatedly asked for the cell phone but he was not responsive. He left the club. She followed him out of the club. The cell phone was taken to lure her away from the crowd."

She followed him into a nearby high-rise dorm and into an elevator, the report said. They got off on a floor, where they encountered the other suspects, police said. They then forced her into a bathroom where they took turns raping her, Lt. Allen said.

Bedward is a Hofstra student, police said. The others are his friends. Nassau cops said that Bedward had signed them in through security.

UPDATE - September 15:

It turns out that this case may be far more similar to the Duke Lacrosse case than preiously suspected. According to New York authorities, the rape claim was a hoax:

The Hofstra University student who told police that she had been lured into a dormitory men's room and sexually assaulted by five men lied about the incident, Nassau County officials said Wednesday night.

The 18-year-old told prosecutors that she had made up the story. She admitted that the encounter that took place early Sunday morning was consensual, District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a statement.

Charges have been dropped against the four men arrested in the incident and Nassau County Judge Robert Bruno ordered their release immediately, Rice said.

The men arrested on the rape charges were Hofstra student Rondell Bedward, 21, of the Bronx , Jesus Ortiz and Stalin Felipe, both 19 from the Bronx, and Kevin Taveras, 20, of Brentwood. All had been charged with five counts of first-degree rape and held in lieu of $500,000.

The search for another man has been dropped.

An investigation has been launched into the statements and reports given by the woman in connection with the incident, Rice said.

Of course, the difference between the Hofstra and Duke rape hoaxes is that the national media didn't pick up and run with the Hofstra story, nor did Hosftra faculty members sign petitions condemning the accused before hearing any evidence. Wonder why.

In the Duke case, the stripper who alleged the rape - and almost ruined four lives - was far from adequately punished for her lies. Let's hope that the lying little slut who falsely accused these young men is vigorously punished, though frankly that's unlikely to happen.

Additionally, it's probably a good thing for young men to avoid women that consent to group sex ... medically, psychologically and legally.